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W.H. on Beyonce Cuba trip: Talk to the Treasury

“We don’t request the identities of the travelers on the trip. We followed policies accordingly for this trip,” the spokesman said. “The approval process is based in part on the itinerary – not the specific travelers on each trip.”

Per policy, the Treasury Department would not provide the name of the travel organizers of the trip, but Reuters reported that New York-based nonprofit Academic Arrangements Abroad organized it.

Typically, most trips to Cuba are organized by universities and museums, which submit requests to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC enforces trade sanctions, such as America’s travel embargo to Cuba, and also allows for some exceptions. Approval process can take anywhere from weeks to months.

The couple’s trip, which coincided with their fifth wedding anniversary, drew criticism from Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), among others. Diaz-Balart and Ros-Lehtinen wrote a letter asking for more details about the trip earlier this week.

The organizers of the trip got approval because it was part of an “educational exchange trip,” the Treasury Department wrote in a letter responding to the lawmakers. “It is our understanding that the travelers in question traveled to Cuba pursuant to an educational exchange trip organized by a group authorized by OFAC to sponsor and organize programs to promote people-to-people contact in Cuba.”

The couple visited a dance group, a children’s theater company and an arts institute, while on the island.